Hydrogen is often used as a fuel substance. It is highly recommended since it is non-toxic and therefore it is safe to produce, store (even in large amounts), and transport. There are many other advantages to hydrogen such as the fact that it is lighter than air, carbon-free, exceptionally clean, can be produced from a variety of resources, and the only byproducts are water and heat.
Hydrogen is often used in combination with fuel cells that are used all over the world. Stationary cells are often used for emergency power systems as a backup power supply system, and they are used in hospitals, nursing homes, office buildings, etc. Portable cells can supply power for cars, boats, submarines, spacecraft, etc. A fuel cell can also charge different kinds of batteries for a variety of electronic devices.
A fuel cell that comprises hydrogen is an electrochemical cell which converts chemical energy into electric current. The chemical reaction is created when the hydrogen comes into contact with an oxidant. When using hydrogen fuel cells, it is less noisy than in other fuel systems, and most importantly—there is no emission of hazardous materials.
Hydrogen must be stored in a suitable containing system, which can endure high pressure, resulting from containing compressed hydrogen. In order to deliver the hydrogen to different locations, the containing system should be portable. Nowadays, most containing systems that meet those requirements are built from metal materials, alloys and/or composites, and the use of such materials makes the containing system relatively heavy, and therefore limits its portability and range of uses.
WO2011/080746 teaches a storage tank comprising a plurality of hollow micro-cylinders having each an end sealed with a plug made of an easily meltable alloy and heating coils wound around the micro-cylinder ends, which are heated to melt the plug and thereby to liberate the hydrogen gas from said array. This type of arrangement is complex and presents practical problems that prevent it from being a satisfactory industrial solution.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple, efficient, refuelable and low-cost solution that would permit the storage of hydrogen gas in a relatively light-weight storage. It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method that overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.